I plan on doing a photo walk - ride this week around Sebastian. This will give me some connection to the town through the 8 months we are in Michigan. I hope my photos will also give the flavor of this town.

Evenings we very often get a treat or fast meal and go to a parking area along Indian River Drive at the Sebastian City Park. Parkers face East with the setting sun behind them and this has given me some interesting photos of the wildlife.

GOOGLE Photo of the park and River:

My photo of the view and the parkers (ours is the little red car on the right).

"What do ya want to do today?"
"Rainy Day? How about that flea market we see from I-95 near Eau Gallie (O-Golly)?"
"Ok."

Interesting flea market. We have seen it from the expressway for 8 years and I have never visited it. Ok...I bought a couple of things...some lounge-about dresses, a case for my cell phone, a cool bamboo windchime decorated with turtles (I collect turtles), and a fresh lemonade. He got a wallet and glasses. We also got business cards from a couple of interesting vendors. I WAS tempted by the deep-fried Oreo cookies, but passed on that. We wandered about 2/3 of the place and I want to go back.
From the flea market we drove less than a mile to look at a piece of land. The neighborhood was on a canal and many of the houses had one or more air boat. Supposedly the canal is open access to Lake Washington. But, he said, he has never found the real lake.

Back out on the main road we saw a local police officer and asked him about the lake. Seems that if we stay on the main road, which turns to unpaved in half a mile or so, and drive to the end of THAT, we will be near the lake. Have to walk down the muddy path to see the lake, he said.

The drive down the 2-car-wide sand road was interesting in itself with
wide straight canals on both sides and marsh beyond that. I had never
been so close to vultures and had to take the opportunity to photograph
them. Ugly, I know, but they keep the dead animals cleaned up and the
roadsides looking nice.

Soon we saw a youngish fella that looked like a Florida Native...yes
there ARE some natives and mighty interesting they are. He was trying
to take a photo of something. We asked and he replied "'Gator" and
showed us. So I had to take a picture, too.

At the end of the road the "path" had a deep pit full of water across it
so walking back to see the lake was not an option. Aha! There was
ANOTHER Native Floridian...looked like an alligator hunter.

We asked what he was looking at through his binoculars. "'Gator" he replied. Sure enough, down the way was another beastie.

Not all of the sights were chilling. There were several species of amazing waterlilies.

This second Native told us another way to get to see The Lake. It involved several roads and turns which we followed...but no lake.

Finally we got out the GPS and found a "Lake Washington Park" so we followed the GPS to a nice small but clean access point.

It exists! Mostly marsh around the lake seems to make it so inaccessible unless you have an airboat...but that lake is HUGE.

On the way out of the park I was able to get up close and personal with
this squirrel. We have Fox Squirrels back home and they aren't nearly
as cute as these. These look so much smaller, softer; and the white
bellies and around the eyes give it an appealing look.

It is down to 2 weeks until we leave and I accomplished one more goal...sort of.

Many times in the last 8 years we have seen Osprey (Fish Eagles, Sea
Hawks) flying with fish in their talons. I took a photo of one
today...not easy to get all that close.

Some day I will have my camera with the telephoto lens with me and be able to get the driver to actually stop the car.

Two years
ago our dear next door neighbor, Rose, passed away. We stayed here a
few weeks later than usual to help her daughter with the house which
still stands empty and her garden overgrown. Today I looked over at her yard as we left the driveway and spotted these 3 pink roses...her signature color and flower.